KL Rahul’s unbeaten 64-run innings off 103 balls helped India clinch victory in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. With the win, India seats comfortably with a 2-0 lead in the ongoing 3-match series. Sri Lanka had won the toss and had chosen to bat first. Yadav and Siraj both managed to take three wickets each. Impressive bowling from Kuldeep Yadav, who was crowned Man of the Match, Mohammed Siraj helped India bowl out the Sri Lankan side for a low target of 215. Even though Sri Lanka looked strong in the opening overs, hoping to post a score in the 280-300 range, the batting side’s attack soon fizzled out at Eden Gardens. While Siraj attacked the top order, Yadav took care of the middle-order batsmen. Pacer Umran Malik continued to impress, picking up two wickets in the match.
While India was losing wickets every few overs, Rahul’s inning was supported by Hardik Pandya’s 36 runs and Shreyas Iyer’s 28 run hauls. In the end, India comfortably won by 4 wickets with 40 balls left. India’s batting went off with a poor start with an almost immediate collapse of the opening batters. Iyer’s innings started putting up some runs for India, but it was Pandya and Rahul’s 75-run partnership that stabilised the Indian batting order.
The Men in Blue will now look to emphatically end the series with another win over Dasun Shanaka’s men at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow. The match is expected to start at 1:30 PM IST. With the series already won, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma may choose to sub out some of the starting players to test the readiness of the rest of the squad.
India vs Sri Lanka Possible Starting XI:
India Predicted Starting Line-up: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umran Malik
Sri Lanka Predicted Starting Line-up: Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha Lahiru Kumara.
India vs Sri Lanka squads:
India’s squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh
Sri Lanka squad for the ODI series against India: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Ashen Bandara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dasun Shanaka (c), Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Maheesh Theekshana, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka, Dunith Wellalage, Lahiru Kumara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Pramod Madushan
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